Why China's retraining campaign is struggling to help the jobless

Programme was meant to upgrade skills of millions who lost jobs during the pandemic

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CHENGDU (FINANCIAL TIMES) - Li Tianhui had high hopes when she signed up for a free training programme for make-up artists in her neighbourhood, six months after she lost her sales assistant job during the coronavirus pandemic.

"I was having trouble landing a position because of a lack of skills," said Ms Li, a 33-year-old from Chengdu, a south-western Chinese city. "I thought the course could address the problem."

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